Representation possibilities for 3D images have significantly improved in recent developments. Such improved 3D representation of an environment enhances the realism that is experienced by the viewer.
In practice, there are two techniques to arrive at a 3D image. In TV and movie industries, a 3D camera is used to capture a 3D image, or a sequence of 3D images (to create 3D video). The advantage of such capturing of 3D images via a camera is the high degree of similarity with the real situation. A drawback of such capturing of 3D images is that the final viewpoint for the user is (at least largely) determined by the position of the camera. In this context, it is noted that some viewpoint freedom is available, which is based on interpolation or extrapolation of captured images, however this freedom is limited.
In animation and gaming industries, an environment and objects are digitally created by 3D models (for example via polygon meshes). Based on these models, a 3D image is generated. The advantage of generating a 3D image based on digital 3D models is that any viewpoint can be chosen. Indeed in gaming, a viewer is often able to choose from different viewpoints, increasing the viewers freedom. A drawback is that model creation is time-consuming As a result, models for 3D representation are only used to create fictional situations such as animation movies or games.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism allowing capturing a scene using a 3D image capturing device, and where the scene is representable from a substantially free viewpoint.